Plans to allow fracking in Ohio state parks appear to be dead for now after lawmakers removed the provision from a bill making its way through the state legislature.

Democratic State Representative David Leland says he is pleased that lawmakers have struck out part of a bill being considered by the Ohio House that would allow fracking in state parks – though backers said it would have been thousands of feet underground.

“When you have a 12-0 vote in a committee made up of both Democrats and Republicans who oppose fracking in state parks, which is what this vote demonstrates, I think it’s a pretty strong message to the legislature and the people of the state of Ohio,” Leland says.

“And it’s a bipartisan message, which I think makes it even stronger.”

The House hasn’t passed the bill, but it is expected to take it up on the floor this week.

The state of Ohio says oil and gas production rose again in the fourth quarter of last year.

Statistics released by the state Wednesday show production of oil and natural gas from shale drilling continued its steady increase in the last three months of 2014.

The figures show more than 3.5 million barrels of oil and 164 billion cubic feet of natural gas were produced during that period. That’s up from 3 million barrels of oil and 132 billion cubic feet of natural gas in the previous quarter.

Oil production in the state has risen 200 percent and gas production 350 percent in the past two years.

The report shows 779 wells produced at least some oil or gas out of the 828 wells drilled in Ohio’s shale formations.

An out-of-control natural gas fracking well has kept 25 families from their homes for the past three days in eastern Ohio.

The Monroe County well had been temporarily plugged while work was being done elsewhere onsite. But when workers tried to resume production operations Saturday afternoon, the well began to flow uncontrollably.

The families were evacuated from houses within a 1.5-mile radius of the well, located near the Ohio River about 160 miles east of Columbus.

Bethany McCorkle, a spokeswoman for the Department of Natural Resources, says the well is not on fire but the gas could be explosive.

She cold not say when the well will be fixed.

The well is operated by Triad Hunter, a subsidiary of Houston-based Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. that also has offices in Marietta in southeastern Ohio.

There were four local anti-fracking measures on ballots in eastern Ohio, and the results were mixed.

In Kent, Gates Mills and Youngstown, voters defeated efforts to ban fracking or to wrest regulatory control of gas and drilling in their towns from the state of Ohio. The numbers were definitive with a “no” coming from 55 percent or more of the voters in each of those communities. And this was the fourth time that an anti-fracking measure failed in Youngstown.

Athens joins Oberlin, Broadview Heights and Yellow Springs as the fourth Ohio community to pass such a measure. And, as with the other towns, the victory in Athens sets up a likely court fight if and when the city tries to exercise control over drilling, which the OhioLegislature made the sole responsibility of the state’s Department of Natural Resources in 2004.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2014/11/05/athens-outlaws-fracking-three-bans-fail-polls-1/feed/0drilling,election 2014,fracking,natural gas,oilThere were four local anti-fracking measures on ballots in eastern Ohio, and the results were mixed.There were four local anti-fracking measures on ballots in eastern Ohio, and the results were mixed.WOSU Newsno1:07Ohio Shale Production Up Ten Fold Since 2012http://wosu.org/2012/news/2014/08/12/ohio-shale-production-1000-percent-since-2012/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2014/08/12/ohio-shale-production-1000-percent-since-2012/#commentsTue, 12 Aug 2014 13:46:19 +0000The Associated Presshttp://wosu.org/2012/news/?p=76535

The report from the U.S. Energy information Administration found that production from the Utica region in eastern Ohio increased by more than 10 times over the last two years, from 115 million cubic feet per day in 2012 to an estimated 1.3 billion cubic feet per day by September 2014.

A new federal report says that natural gas production in Ohio’s Utica Shale region is growing rapidly.

The report issued Monday found that production from the Utica region in eastern Ohio increased by more than 10 times over the last two years, from 115 million cubic feet per day in 2012 to an estimated 1.3 billion cubic feet per day by September 2014.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration says the Utica is one of the fastest growing natural gas production areas in the United States. Utica oil production has also increased to about 40,000 barrels per day.

But the Utica production numbers are still far smaller than leading regions such as the Marcellus in Pennsylvania, the Bakken in North Dakota, or the Eagle Ford in Texas.

Big changes could be coming to Ohioâ€™s fracking regulations in terms of chemical disclosure. Itâ€™s a transparency issue environmental groups have been pushing to advance for years, and it appears another step is in the works following a major chemical spill.

Big changes could be coming to Ohioâ€™s fracking regulations in terms of chemical disclosure.

Itâ€™s a transparency issue environmental groups have been pushing to advance for years, and it appears another step is in the works following a major chemical spill.

Late last month a large fire broke out at a hydraulic fracturingâ€”or frackingâ€”pad in Monroe County. According to a report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencyâ€”fire crews doused the site with more than 300,000 gallons of waterâ€”forcing nearly a dozen drilling-related chemicals to runoff the site.

Several of those chemicals were then discovered in a nearby creek where, as the report explains, more than 70,000 fish were killed along a five-mile stretch of the creek.

In responding to the fire in Monroe Countyâ€”Gov. John Kasich says it might be time to change laws again to make sure all first-responders have more access to all the chemical information.

â€œCause we do haveâ€”Iâ€™m toldâ€”the most transparent of all the fracking liquid in the country. But if itâ€™s not getting to enough people then we need to widen it. Because I donâ€™t want to have people walking around saying â€˜well I donâ€™t know what was there,’” Kasich said late last week.

Companies are already required to provide a list of the chemicals used at the site. The only chemicals not on the list are those protected by trade rights, which are reported to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Tom Stewart, executive vice president of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, urges that the drilling companies were compliant and disclosed all of their chemicalsâ€”even proprietary informationâ€”upon request. He adds that organizations such as the Ohio Medical Society are satisfied with the current chemical disclosure laws.

â€œThe people that really care about this stuff like doctors believe that they haveâ€”through their societyâ€”believe that they can get the access that they need. I think that whatâ€™s happening here is just another political gamesmanship.â€

Stewart adds that creating more access to trade secrets would stifle the industry and company innovation.

The Ohio Environmental Council has been calling for expanded access to chemical information since the fracking industry started to take off in the state.

Deputy Director Jack Shaner says the process could still be faster and that firefighters needed to know about the chemicals on the pad while they were rushing to the scene.

â€œYou know depending on what the chemicals are that helps guide the effective suppression of that fire. Whether to use foamâ€”to use waterâ€”other approaches to that fire,” Shaner says.

“They can predict how itâ€™s going to reactâ€”how it may flame upâ€”or how it plumesâ€”how air emissions will flow. Firefighters desperately need that information.â€

Kasich has said for years that heâ€™s for strong regulations while still preserving the industry.

â€œI mean I think itâ€™s absolutely critical that we protect this environment but we can protect it and still have a good business thatâ€™s employing lots of people in our state so these things are not taken lightlyâ€”theyâ€™re not swept under the rugâ€”theyâ€™re things we focus on.â€

The governor also said he wants to take a look at ways of improving the internal communication among his administration. Both the Ohio EPA and Department of Natural Resources were on the scene to help with the investigation and cleanup.

As the federal EPA releases information about the cleanupâ€”ODNR continues to investigate the fish kill and the cause of the fire.

While itâ€™s slowed down a bit, the shale natural gas boom is still pushing an industry thatâ€™s growing in Ohio, not only attracting oil and gas companies but other businesses that benefit from shale production.

Ohioâ€™s drilling industry is starting to hit its stride when it comes to producing natural gas from the Utica shale, according to the latest report from the state department that regulates the industry. In its annual State of the Play report, ODNR says production nearly doubled between 2012 and 2013. Leaders say a big reason for this is the maturing industry.

Itâ€™s been about four years since companies started to horizontally drill on the Utica shale. T his process includes hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking. ODNRâ€™s Oil and Gas Chief Rick Simmers says the ramp up in production is partly due to the companies learning more about the nature of the shale over time.

For example, the average time it takes to drill a well has been cut in half because companies are more familiar with the territory.

â€œTheyâ€™re also learning how to refine or fine-tune the completion. In other words how do they draw the oil and gas out of the well effectively and economically so as those technologies improve and those modifications to the process improve the production of oil and gas out of the wells will increase,” Simmers says.

ODNR Director Jim Zehringer says the spike in production means natural gas is an even more reliable energy resource now.

â€œBecause of the Utica shale Ohio now produces more than half the natural gas we need to keep our homes warm during that cold winter that Rick just mentioned. Not only are we becoming more energy independent as a nation we are becoming more energy dependent as a state.â€

Leaders used the event as an opportunity to tout Ohio as a business-friendly environment for other gas-related companies that may consider moving to the state. But Zehringer said the state will enforce regulations when needed.

â€œIf an operation must be stopped or a company suspended in order to protect Ohioans and our environment,” Zehringer says, “we have and we will take the right steps necessary to do so.â€

A recent example of this is whenâ€”after a series of small earthquakes in Mahoning Countyâ€”ODNR suspended drilling in a certain area and implemented new rules to monitor possible seismic activity.

Nathan Johnson, an attorney with the Ohio Environmental Council, believes the state could be doing more to toughen-up regulation.

â€œAcross the board there are so many areas that could be approved. The stringency of Class II injection wellsâ€”certainly the solid waste that is now being beneficially used but no testing or tracking in most cases.”

Johnson adds that a recent fracking well fire that killed a number of wildlife in Monroe County is an example of why the state should revise its setback regulations from streams.

The creation of new rules and regulations is actually good for attracting business, according to the former director of the stateâ€™s regulation over the industry.

David Mustine is now with Gov. John Kasichâ€™s jobs creating entity JobsOhio, working with companies that may want to move to Ohio and set up businesses that make use of the produced natural gas.

â€œDownstream companies, before they make major investment in our state, want to make sure we have a healthy business climateâ€”and to have a healthy business climate we have to have responsible regulation and the companies expect that.â€

Looking to the future of shale gas development in Ohioâ€”Zehringer says ODNR will continue to revise laws in order to strengthen its protection of ground water.

â€œAll our agencies will work every day together to make sure oil and gas development does not harm our citizens or our environment.â€

ODNR officials added that the department continues to work on its website to improve the way the public can research drilling information and make it user-friendly.

Last week a processor called Access Midstream announced plans for a major expansion of its facility in Harrison County. And experts say investments in that midstream chunk of the business are a key sign of the long-term health of a regionâ€™s gas industry.

Most people know about the horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing thatâ€™s producing the oil and gas in Ohioâ€™s shale fields.

But another part of the industry is developing, too.

People in the oil and gas business break down the industry into different chunks. Upstream is exploration and drilling. Downstream is where finished products meet consumers. The midstream is processing, and thatâ€™s where bottlenecks can crop up.

Last week a processor called Access Midstream announced plans for a major expansion of its facility in Harrison County. And experts say investments in that midstream chunk of the business are a key sign of the long-term health of a regionâ€™s gas industry.

“They sort of signal the next big step,” says Jim Samuel, a consultant in the oil and gas business based in Columbus.

Drilling rigs are mobile by nature. When you get into the midstream, youâ€™re talking about capital investments that are for the most part buried underground.

Heâ€™s talking about pipelines that move raw product to facilities where the oil and gas is separated into various liquids and gases. A company doesnâ€™t make a bet like that without serious confidence that itâ€™s going to pay off.

Processing facilities also enable growth upstream. They give drillers somewhere to send their product. With a shortage of processing capacity, drillers have to store or ship gas at high costs.Â That can slow drilling. With midstream processing on the rise, the industry is as bullish as ever.

Mike Chadsey is a spokesman for the Ohio Oil and Gas Association. He says itâ€™s not just oil and gas producers that benefit from midstream investments.

“Weâ€™re going to have to lay a bunch of new pipe, which means those Ohio small businesses that move dirt, lay pipe, have welders, and have truck drivers that ship aggregates and all the other things â€“ thatâ€™s an opportunity for those businesses to expand.,” Chadsey says.

An Access Midstream official says by the end of 2015, the companyâ€™s eastern Ohio investments will total $1.8 billion. With the expansion, the Harrison County facility will jump from producing about 800 million cubic feet of gas per day to over one billion.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2014/05/20/investment-in-midstream-processing-could-change-gas-industry/feed/0drilling,eastern ohio,fracking,natural gas,ohio,oilLast week a processor called Access Midstream announced plans for a major expansion of its facility in Harrison County. And experts say investments in that midstream chunk of the business are a key sign of the long-term health of a regionâ€™s gas indus...Last week a processor called Access Midstream announced plans for a major expansion of its facility in Harrison County. And experts say investments in that midstream chunk of the business are a key sign of the long-term health of a regionâ€™s gas industry.WOSU Newsno2:08Oil Well Spills Into Southeast Ohio Creekhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2014/05/08/oil-well-spills-into-southeast-ohio-creek/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2014/05/08/oil-well-spills-into-southeast-ohio-creek/#commentsThu, 08 May 2014 13:56:20 +0000The Associated Presshttp://wosu.org/2012/news/?p=70419

State and federal teams are still cleaning up after a shale well being drilled for fracking in southeast Ohio began leaking and the oily fluid ran into a nearby creek.

State and federal teams are still cleaning up after a shale well being drilled for fracking in southeast Ohio began leaking and the oily fluid ran into a nearby creek.

The leak from the well in Morgan County was discovered Sunday when the lubrication fluid, commonly called mud, began spilling over from the drill site. Officials said it was contained Wednesday.

Seven residents were evacuated because of the danger that escaping natural gas might lead to an explosion.

The well’s owner, PDC Energy of Colorado, said 100 barrels of drilling mud spilled from the well, and some of it reached an unnamed creek. Environmental officials said it could be harmful to marine life.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources says such incidents are rare.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is now requiring oil and drilling companies to implement seismic monitoring policies if they want to frack near a fault line or an area known for seismic activity.

Industry and environmental advocates are weighing in on how a significant policy shift by the state of Ohio could impact oil and gas drilling nationwide.

For years questions have surrounded the controversial drilling technique of hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, and whether or not it causes earthquakes. Now Ohio appears to be the first state to say it can draw a probable correlation between fracking and seismic activity.

Mark Bruce, spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, says the state reached this conclusion after investigating a series of earthquakes in northeast Ohio last month.

â€œWe cannot draw a definitive connection because the depths of different events rangesâ€”they range greatly in distance and depthâ€”but there are some that happen at the same depth of the well so thatâ€™s why we can draw that probably connection.â€

Tom Stewart is executive vice president of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, one of the stateâ€™s top trade associations for the industry. He says other states, such as Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, have been investigating a link between fracking and seismic activity, but no state has gone as far as Ohio.

â€œThis is the first timeâ€”to the best of my knowledgeâ€”where a state has set in policy as it relates to hydraulic fracturing.â€

The Ohio Environmental Council has been a vocal advocate for more regulation on fracking. Deputy Director Jack Shaner hopes the link to earthquakes will impact future policy.

â€œThis is hugeâ€”this could be a real game-changer. Industry can no longer just blithely strike back and say â€˜Oh, no oneâ€™s ever found a connection,â€™ baloneyâ€”itâ€™s happened and itâ€™s happened here in Ohio.â€

Researchers have already said injection wells can be connected to seismic activity after several earthquakes rattled the Youngstown area at the end of 2011. Injection wells are used to dispose of fracking waste.

Stewart urges that people keep this new possible link between fracking and earthquakes into perspective adding that earthquakes on a small scale happen on a constant, day-by-day basis.

â€œI think we need to recognize that and to say that itâ€™s related to oil and gas could it beâ€”I imagine that it could be. But these are all natural events that are happening as well.â€

Shaner believes the policy shift is especially noteworthy given that it comes from Gov. John Kasichâ€™s administration.

â€œThe Kasich Administration has been cheerleader and resident from day one for the oil and gas industry for production for â€˜go, go, goâ€™ for shale gas and so when the Kasich Administrationâ€™s own department of natural resources finds a link between fracking and earthquakes you know something is really afoot and the science must show a pretty clear connection here.â€

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is now requiring oil and drilling companies to implement seismic monitoring policies if they want to frack near a fault line or an area known for seismic activity.

Stewart says itâ€™s too soon to know how these conditions will impact oil and gas companies and will have to review the new terms case-by-case. He does add that there are companies that already implement seismic monitoring measures as they drill.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2014/04/15/drilliers-environmentalists-react-to-new-fracking-policy/feed/0drilling,fracking,natural gas,ohio,oilThe Ohio Department of Natural Resources is now requiring oil and drilling companies to implement seismic monitoring policies if they want to frack near a fault line or an area known for seismic activity.The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is now requiring oil and drilling companies to implement seismic monitoring policies if they want to frack near a fault line or an area known for seismic activity.WOSU Newsno3:24